Review: Black-Eyed Susans

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, I wanted to read a mystery since it's Halloween time. I don't normally like mysteries because I tend to find them predictable. Although I really enjoyed this writer's style and narrative, I had the killer pegged pretty early. Fortunately, there is more to this story than just a whodunnit. Getting inside the head of the victim was really well done and interesting and there were a few other plot points that weren't as predictable. So, not bad. Not great but not bad.

This review is in exchange for a free copy received from the publisher.

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Review: The Witches: Salem, 1692

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This whole book was very interesting and informative but I thought the quality of the writing itself was better at the beginning and the end than the bulk of the middle. Schiff jumps around a bit in her narrative and that made it a little difficult at times to keep track of who was who and what they did. She would also switch topics unexpectedly on occasion. I would find myself reading and realize I had no idea what she was referring to anymore and would have to go back and re-read to figure out where I lost the train. The author does have a real gift for turning a phrase. This was the first time in years I actually underlined passages in a book (I know!! I marked up a book!). Some great lines that sum up this story: "Salem is in part the story of what happens when a set of unanswerable questions meets a set of unquestioned answers" (p.9) and "we have turned a story of women in peril into one about perilous women" (p.10). There are many more I loved but I'll leave you with those.

This review is in exchange for a free ARC received from the publisher.

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Review: The Brontë Plot

The Brontë Plot by Katherine Reay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It took me a while to get into the flow of this author's writing style. The narrative would be going along nicely and then the dialog would be abruptly thrust in. The passage of time was also a bit sudden and felt random and disorienting at the the beginning but evens out at the end when the timeline is more consistent. The story itself was not bad. Nice little idea and enjoyable for those of us that enjoy the classics.

This review is based on a digital ARC from Netgalley.com.

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Review: The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge

The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book up until the end, then it was....I can't say, it would spoil it. So, uh, the storytelling was good.....I was honestly exclaiming out loud disappointed in the end.

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Review: The Girl With All the Gifts

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to read this one because it got a good plug from Joss Whedon. I didn't really look any further to see what it was about before I picked up a copy and I'm a little annoyed that I got suckered into reading a zombie book in such a superficial manner. I don't like zombie books. I don't like zombies. All that aside, the main character reminded me a little bit of Smeagol, if Smeagol had been a genius young girl/zombie. I probably would have liked this book better if it wasn't about zombies but it wasn't bad for all that. I didn't find the ending as shocking as I was expecting from all the little blurbs I had read.

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Review: The Prophecy Con

The Prophecy Con by Patrick Weekes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yup, still enjoying this series. Weekes may be my new favorite obscure author. There's a lot of great imagination at work in these books but the dialog is very realistically written so it's a perfect combination and makes the whole thing work very well. Looking forward to reading book 3.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from Netgalley.com.

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Review: Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've never read any of Brosh's blog posts but I may have to check them out. This was a very fast read full of funny stories (I loved the ones about her childhood and her dogs) and some very well-articulated stories about dealing with depression.

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Review: The Paleo Cardiologist: The Natural Way to Heart Health

The Paleo Cardiologist: The Natural Way to Heart Health by Jack Wolfson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, there is quite a lot of medical technical jargon. I honestly found myself reading a passage occasionally and having no idea what it just said. That aside, this is a very informative and interesting read. I'm always trying to read new books about health and nutrition. I've tried the advice in enough of them to know to be a bit skeptical and take everything with a grain of salt. I tried paleo a while back. I don't think I lost much weight but I did notice my skin looked the best it has ever looked. I ended up giving it up because I like bread so much. I have since noticed that I feel like crap when I eat grains and breads so I am thinking about giving this another go. I have recently copped to having developed a sugar addiction so this may be a big of a struggle this time around but I have a feeling I might feel better off for it now that I have more information under my belt.

This review is in exchange for a free copy received through Goodreads First Reads.

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Review: Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mr. Coates has a brilliant and unique way of explaining the race problems facing our country. He articulates the black perspective in a way I have never heard before and makes the situation more easy to understand. Unfortunately, there is not much hope in this book. What there is is a means to understanding. If enough people take the time, maybe that will be enough. Then there can be hope.


This review is in exchange for a free ARC from the publisher.

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Review: Fat Free: The Science of Shredding Body Fat

Fat Free: The Science of Shredding Body Fat by Ian A Lane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aside from spelling and grammatical errors, this was a really interesting read. It basically advocates a Ketogenic/Atkins diet. There are a lot of sources sited though. This guy really did his research.

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Review: J

J by Howard Jacobson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I think this is one of those books that you can only enjoy if you are in the proper mindframe. This would be a frame of mind that I am definitely not in right now. I wasn't a big fan of 1984 and this was basically the same book projected further into the future. It even has Big Brother's eye all over the cover. Maybe I'll like this more on a re-read at some future date.

This review is in exchange for a free copy received from Bloggingforbooks.org.

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